Sheet piling



Aug. 24, 1937.

BALL

SHEET FILING Original Filed Oct. 1'7, 1935 Q XW Patented Aug. 24, 1937 UNITEDy STATES SHEET PILING Edwin Leo Ball, Alexandria, La.

Application October 17, 1935, Serial No. 45,490 Renewed June 29, 1937 7 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in piling, and its objects are as follows:

First, to provide sheet steel piles for foundations, caissons,` coiferdams, bulkheads and the like, constructed in tubular form, which is usually of circular cross section, but not necessarily so.

Second, to provide a sheet pile in the general form of a tube or pipe, said pile having a slot extending longitudinally thereof from end to end so l0 that av plurality of the piles can be interengaged asset out below, one end of the pile being beveled to provide a cutting edge so as to facilitate driving.

Third, toA locate the foregoing bevel or cutting edge onv the outside of the pile so as to displacethe material outwardly as driving progresses,

thereby preventing packing of the material on the inside of the pile.

Fourth, to provide a pile of the foregoing description having a wall which can either be made of a uniform cross section so as to provide a uniform cylinder, or which can be made thick on one side, i. e. the side opposite to the slot so as to reinforce the pile, said thickness being capable of variable distribution in different setups of piles,

5 alias fully brought out below.

Fifth, to provide piles which can be interlinked somewhat on the order of a. chain so that they will be mutuallysupported and will provide maximum strength for a minimum amount of material,

thereby adapting the piles to a wide variety of uses, one of which, when employed in foundation construction as already indicated, lends itself to a filling of concrete or equivalent plastic material, the principal advantages of which are also elaborated upon below.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is an elevation of a pile constructed in accordance with the invention, the midportion being broken away.

Figure 2 is a cross section of a sheet of metal of uniform thickness from which a uniformly cylindrical pile can be made.

Figure 3 is a cross section of an interconnected chain of piles, particularly showing how the interconnection is made at the longitudinal slots, further, how the interior voids can be filled with concrete.

Figure 4 is a cross section of a metal sheet showing extra metal on one side to provide an extra thickness on that side of the completed pile opposite to the slot.

Figure 5 is a cross section similar to Figure 3 showing the disposition of the extra metal on the 55 inside of the chain of piles.

Figure 6 is a cross section similar to Figure 5 showing the disposition of the extra metal on the outside of the chain of piles.

Figure 7 is a cross section of a metal sheet"A showing extra metal on both sides of the pile. 5

Figure 8 is a cross section of a. chain of piles constructed of metal of the form in Figure 7, this arrangement providing maximum reinforcement on the sides opposite to the slots.

Figure 9 is a detail cross section illustrating how a circular cofferdam can be constructed from the improved piling, only a fraction of the collerdam being shown.

Figure 10 is a detail cross section showing hcw a corner is turned when constructing a noncircular caisson orcoiferdam.

Figure 1l is a detail cross section of a modication in which the cross sectional form of the piles is other than cylindrical.

In Figure 1 the pile I is made in the form of a 0 pipe or tube Awhich has a straight longitudinal slot 2 extending from end to end. 'I'he lower end of the slot passes through the bevel 3 which provides a cutting end. This bevel is purposely 1ocated on the outside of the pile so as to displace the solid material outwardly and prevent packing thereof on the interior. The slot 2 is at least twice as wide as the metal of the pile is thick, this being a provision necessary to the interconnection of the piles in chain form, as shown, for example, in Fig. 3.

This particular form, referring to Fig. 3, shows a chain of piles in which the metal of each is of uniform cross section. This is shown in Fig. 2. This metal is rolled into cylindrical form. leaving 3. the slot 2 as is readily understood. The piles are interconnected to form what may be called an overlapping series, approximately one-half of the contour of one series of piles encroaching upon the adjacent half of the other series of piles. Any 4:0Y

tendency of an individual pile to spread is checked and prevented by the support which parts of contiguous piles provide. Further, any tendency oi' fall over is checked and prevented by the same principle of mutual support. It is optional whether the internal voids I (Fig. 3) shall be left empty or not. When the pile is used in foundation construction they will be lled with concrete 5. 'This firmly holds the sheet piles in solid interconnection, making it absolutely impossible for any yielding to occur at the free ends of the sheets adjacent to the slots.

Such a use of the piling provides a permanent wall. After the piles are driven in the interconnected series they will be jetted or cleaned out by within the contines of the ground on which thebuilding is to be erected. Enlarging upon the use of the piling in foundation construction, a further advantage is that in instances where bracing is needed, the amount of bracing actually -applied can be materially cut down because of the higher resistance of the chain of piling to cross bending.

But returning to the characteristics of the pile itself, Figs. 5, 6 and 8 illustrate a variety of modes of reinforcement. In Fig. 4 the metal sheet i has a thickness larger on one side. 'I'his is in the form of a bulge which extends longitudinally from end to end, the highest part being in the c'enter whence it tapers oil to the lateral edges. When bending this sheet into form the thickness can either be disposed on the inside, as in Fig. 5, or on the outside as in Fig. 6. y

'Ihe piles in Fig. 8 are constructed from a sheet l having the cross sectional'form in Fig. 7. Here there are thicknesses 8, Il on opposite sides of the sheet. These, as in the instance of the thickness 6, extend from end to end of the sheet. The greatest thickness is in the longitudinal center whence it tapers oif to the lateral edges. A pile constructed from a sheet of this form has the appearance in Fig. 8. This particular construction provides maximum lateral strength, and itis optional .with the contractor which of the forms in Figs. 5, 6 and 8 shall be employed.

Fig. 9 illustrates how the piling is employed in making a circular caisson or bulkhead. Here the inner ring II of piles is made of a smaller diameter than the sheet piles in the outer ring I2. The two series of piles are interconnected in chain form at their slots 2 in the identical manner described in connection with Fig. 3.

Fig. 10 illustrates how a corner is turned in a caisson or bulkhead construction. The latter/is here assumed to be of rectangular form or if not.

of rectangular form, then of a form other than circular. 'I'he piles I are interengaged in chain form, as before, but at the corner I3 where the two walls Il make a ninety degree angle, a threequarter pile I5 is used. 'I'his pile distinguishes from the others by having a much wider slot, but the same interlocking principle occurs here as in the other form.

The Apreceding description is predicated on a cylindrical pile, as in Fig. 3, or piles which are substantially cylindrical, as in Figs. 5, 6 and 8.

Other cross sectional forms are capable of being made and one of such forms is shown in Fig. l1. Here the piles I8 are of a general elliptical form. They have longitudinal slots I1, and they are interengaged at the slots in the precise manner already brought out. In Fig'. ll the sheets from which the piles are made are of uniform thickness, but this thickness can be varied according to Figs. 4 and '1, so that there will be extra weight either on the inside or outside (Figs. 5 and 6), o on both sides (Fig. 8). f

I claim:

1. Sheet piling comprising two series of tubes,

each tube having a slot producing a pair of confronting tlanges, the adjacent flanges of adjacent tubes in one series occupying the slots in the companion series, thus providing mutual interengagement of the tubes in overlapping chain i'orm.

2. Sheet piling comprising plural series of tubes having slots extending from end to end, said tube series being interengaged at the slots so that onc tube series overlaps the other to provide an interconnected chain of piles.

3. Sheet piling comprising plural series of tubes having slots extending from end to end, said tube series being interengaged at the slots so that one tube series overlaps the other to provide an interconnected chain of piles, said tubes being thickened on the sides opposite to the slots.

4. Sheet piling comprising a series of longitudinally slotted tubes, each slot containing portions of two adjacent tubes so as to provide two series of tubes in interconnected, overlapping chain form, each of the tubes having an outside bevel on one end to provide a cutting edge.

5. Sheet piling comprising two series of slotted tubes, all of said tubes being interconnected at the various slots in overlapping chain form. the

- tubes in one series being oi' a smaller diameter extendinglongitudinally from end to end of the pile, one end of the pile being beveled on the outside to provide a cutting edge, said pile being thickened on the side opposite to the slot.

EDWIN LEO BALL. 

